Endings
by C-town Chica
Summary: A person from Miriallia's past is about to change everything she has known for the last two peaceful years. Will she let him in or will she close herself off from having a happy ending.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or its characters.

Author's note: This is my first Gundam Seed story. Sorry if it isn't good but I am trying to branch out from DBZ fics. This is going to be a Miriallia Dereaka. Well I hope everyone enjoys. I know that this chapter is beyond short and I promise to work on making the next chapters longer.

_**Endings**_

It was finally over. No more fighting and killing, and no more blood was to be shed. The peace talks had been completed. Treaties had been signed and dated. Both sides let their councils make all the important decisions regarding the future of Naturals and Coordinators alike. In am act to try to heal wounds and stop further conflict, they blended the two nation's councils and leader into one super council. People were tired of fighting so they had no problem with the forming of the new council, so long as both nation's best interest is at heart.

It seemed that everyone was finally letting all their old hatred go and were willing to accept each others differences. It helped that the genocidal leader on each side died during the climax of the war. Without a manical leader telling people that one side was inferior to the other, made it easier to forgive and forget. At least that was each councils hope. Having younger members, who were directly involved in the fighting of the war, on the council led to more support of the new council's laws and ideas. The younger council members worked hard to fight for what they wanted in the peace talks and how reconstruction would be handled.

The process of blending the two races was going smoother than most people expected. There were still some fanatics on each side that made the blending of the two hard, but the nation of Orb stepped up the help show people how the two races could cohabitate together without violence. Only time or death would stop the fanatics, and then everyone could truly live in peace. The only thing standing in the was of a peaceful happiness would be the lingering memories of battles and death in the minds of those who fought.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or its characters.

_**Endings**_

Two years later

"Mir, did you hear? They are coming home." Sai yelled at his quiet friend. She had been that way since before the war ended. While everyone else moved away and moved on with their new lives, Sai had not. He could not stand leaving Miriallia, when she had suffered so much. So he had stayed and devoted his time to helping her start her life again. The death of her long term boyfriend and love Tolle, had left her empty. She had withdrawn from most everyone but Sai after Tolle's death, though she had formed an unique friendship with the pilot of the Buster Gundam, Dearka. While she did everything she could to help end the war, afterwards she was left with nothing more to fight for. She had been making progress the last two weeks, and Sai could see the old Miriallia poking through. He was hoping that the return of their friends would help her come out of her depression.

"Who is coming home Sai?" Miriallia called back to him from the kitchen. She had been making breakfast when Sai had run into her apartment to tell her his news. They had both returned to Orb to live. Both moving in to the same apartment building. Their apartments were identical except that Miriallia had a two bedroom, while Sai's only had one bedroom. Also, Sai was living on the floor below her.

"Kira and the everybody else. He called me early this morning to say that they had finished all the reconstruction work and would be home later this afternoon." Sai wondered into the kitchen taking a seat at her table while he waited for her to respond. It wasn't long in coming and it was nothing short of what he expected.

Miriallia turned her head to smile faintly at him and nod okay. It took all his self control not to groan at her. "Would you like some breakfast or did you already eat?" She asked dismissing the subject and setting out plates and glasses for breakfast.

"Sure, I would like to have some. Thanks Mir." Sai decided to drop the subject maybe when they had lunch together, he would bring it up again. It was not like she was unhappy about seeing their friends, it was just that with seeing them again, her memories of the war and Tolle would surface again.

The two fell into comfortable silence as they ate their meal. Miriallia could think of nothing that brought her more comfort than being around Sai. He was the first person there for her when Tolle died and he had been there for her ever since. Sai was safe, he was her best friend.

Standing up to wash his plate, Sai watched as Miriallia picked and toyed with her food. She looked to be concentrating on something really hard. He hated the way she would not eat. At one point he had to threaten to tie her down and force-feed her until she started eating again. It had worked, she had started eating but not enough to make him happy. Then two weeks ago, her appetite came back and she seemed happy again. He watched her for a few more minutes, smiling at her quiet form. Leaning down, he placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I want you to come to the airport with me tonight. Cagalli and Lacus would love to see you and so would Kira. I meet you back here at 6:30 and then we can go. Oh, and I am not taking no for an answer." Sai told her walking out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"Sai, I will go with you. No need to get all parental on me." Miriallia shouted back.

"That is a good girl. I will see you for lunch. Bye Mir." He did not even wait to hear her answer as he rushed out of her apartment and off to work.

"Bye Sai." Miriallia whispered to the empty apartment. Her eyes clouded with tears that she refused to let fall. As usual her thoughts were chaotic and depressing. She missed Kira. How could she not, they had been friends long before the war had broken out. She was one of the reasons that he had fought in the war. She could not wait to see him again, along with Cagalli and Lacus. Those two were as opposite as night and day. Cagalli is one amazing, strong girl, who could show a mule how to be stubborn. While Lacus is sweet and patient, with a strength that not many people notice. But both of the girls had big open hearts. They never gave up on those that they cared about. Miriallia counted herself lucky that they are her friends. The one person that she could do without seeing is Athrun.

Her and Athrun had come to an unspoken agreement to never mention Tolle and his death, especially since Athrun, himself, had killed him. She figured that if it had not been for Tolle's death, she would have liked him. He seemed to be a kind guy who cared for his friends. He had also gone out of his way to be extra nice to her, making it harder for her to hate him. Oh, she was not fond of him but hating him would never bring Tolle back. But that did not stop a part of her from wanting to lash out and make him feel as bad as she does every time she is reminded that her love was taken from her.

"This is ridiculous. I can't just sit here all day." Miriallia mumbled to herself as she got up from the table and carried her dishes to the sink. As she washed the breakfast dishes, she made up her mind to once again put all her negative thoughts away and try to be happy. She would ignore Athrun and be happy. No one would ever find out how she still hurt and wanted to give up and never face the outside world again. But she could not do that. Hell Sai would never let her do that. Especially after the way he threatened to make her eat again. Miriallia shook her head at her thoughts as she left the kitchen to get ready for the day.

Thirty minutes later, she walked out of her apartment wearing a knee-length black skirt and a white blouse. Quickly locking the door, she ran to catch the elevator to go down to the ground floor. Seeing the doors closing, she shouted out for whoever was inside to hold the doors for her. unfortunately her cries were unheard, because just as she reached it, the doors closed in her face. Leaning her head against the cool metal doors, Miriallia knew that it was going to be one of those days. Grumbling about how long it took to the elevator in the stupid building, she knew that the stairs were her only option if she did not want to be late to work. Slipping off her heels, she carefully made her way down the stairs and to the parking garage. She cursed the person who decided to put so many steps in the building. She slipped her heels on once she reached the ground floor and the door to the parking garage. Miriallia quickly scanned the garage looking for her car as she maneuvered her way through the maze of cars. A sigh of relief escaped her as she finally reached it. Maybe she would not be to late now. Digging through her purse, for her keys, she wondered how people could make mobile suits, but they could not make a car that would unlock at the presence of its owner. Ah-ha, there they are! Unlocking the car, she dropped her purse into the passenger seat, and slide behind the wheel. Maybe today would be good after all. Ever since Sai's news, she had felt off and lost in a mountain of memories. But she was putting them behind her and today would be a good one. And it would have been, if the battery in her car had not been dead.

Pain exploded in her head as she hit it against the steering wheel. She sat staring blankly out the windshield for who knows how many minutes. She could feel tears of frustration well up into her eyes. Realizing that just sitting there was not helping matters, Miriallia grabbed her purse and slipped back out of her car. She kicked the front wheel, giving herself a small amount of pleasure. Even though the kicking did nothing to help her situation, it did help to alleviate some of her frustration.

She slipped her sunglasses on as she stepped out into the bright sunlight. The sun felt good on her cool skin and made walking to work not such a bad thing. Clutching her purse tighter, she hurried down the sidewalk towards the bookstore and her job. She was late and the crowds of people were not making things any better. Glancing down at her watch, Miriallia muttered under her breath and pushed her way past more people.

Finally, the bookstore was in sight, now if she could just get a few more of these people out of her way. Reaching for the door, she froze as a very familiar looking blonde head passed her. Her body felt paralyzed, and her mind raced with the last time she had seen that blonde head.

"Dearka." She heard somebody whisper, only to realize that, that somebody was her.

Miriallia, shook her head at her foolishness. Seeing a man with blonde hair and she immediately calls out his name. What on earth made her think of him anyway. It could have been Sai. She had not seen him since the war ended and everyone disembarked from the Archangel. Closing her eyes to rid herself of the image of him walking away after peace had been declared. She was being silly. Sai's news that their friends were coming home was making her imagine things that could not possibly be there.

Sai came by later to have lunch with her. It was a small ritual of theirs, to have lunch every Friday. Their lunch date was always a treat to her, but lately she had been hoping that he would maybe not come by. She enjoyed his friendship, but wished that he would start living his life again. He was letting the excuse of taking care of her, keep him from moving on. Sai was one of the few that could understand what she was going through. They had both lost someone they loved. But Sai had first lost his love to Kira, and then to death. She had just lost Tolle to death, at Athrun's hands.

"Sai, I think we should talk." Miriallia said distilling the quiet atmosphere around them.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

"You, and your picking the pieces of your life back up. I know that you are here to help me, but Sai, I need you to be happy and not so worried about me." She reached across the table and and took his hold of his hands. Lacing her fingers through his, she squeezed them a little and smiled at him. "I won't ever truly be happy if I know that you are putting your life on hold to take care of me."

"Miriallia, you know that is not what I am doing. I love you and I am moving on with my life. Besides if I leave, who is going to make sure that you eat and take care of yourself?" Sai asked breaking her hold on his hand and reaching out to cup her cheek.

"I will do all of that. I know that I get spacey and don't eat. I know that I have been having a hard time letting go of Tolle, but I am going to try harder form now on. The war is over and Tolle is dead. I need to get on with my life and so do you. Sai, Flay is dead."

His hand jerked back from her face as if it had been scorched. He blinked his eyes at her trying to process what she had just said. "Mir, I know that Flay is dead."

"Do you? Do you really know and understand that she is dead?"

"Yes, dammit. Why would you ask me that?"

"Because it seems like you don't accept it. Like you are trying to hide form the pain of her death by looking after me. Everyone thought of Kira as the protector, but so are you. When Tolle died, you held me and tried to save me from doing anything stupid. Like trying to kill Dearka. You tried to protect Flay when her father died but you were not able to. She self-destructed anyway."

"Mir, why are you talking about all of this?"

"Because, you have looked after me long enough. It is time for you and for me to have a chance to live again in this peace-filled world. Because I love you and want you to be happy just like you want me to be happy."

The two friends stared at each other over the remains of their lunch. It was hard to tell who was more emotional over their talk. Miriallia was busy trying to blink back tears, while Sai was busy fighting his own emotions at being told he was not needed anymore.

"I know what you are thinking. And you are wrong. I still need you, just less of you. Besides I know about that cute blonde who gave you her number. Why don't you give her call and ask her out after our weekend with Kira and Co?" Miriallia said as she winked at Sai.

He broke out into a combination of smiles and blushes due to her direct statement. "I think I will. Now if you will excuse me. I have to get back to work and so do you. I will meet you at your apartment at 5:30 to go collect everybody."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Bye Sai." She leaned up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. Miriallia walked Sai to the door and watched as he left the bookstore. She stayed there watching him until he disappeared from her line of sight. She thought again of seeing everyone tonight. She was both excited and apprehensive about what to expect. Her mind once again called up the image of the Buster pilot as he walked away from the Archangel and her. Miriallia sighed as she turned back to her work. She was thinking thoughts that she had no business thinking. She had to wonder why she was even contemplating, first calling out his name on the sidewalk this morning and now thinking about him as she watched Sai walk away.

The rest of her day was pretty uneventful. The too few customers left her with too much time to think. She knew that one of Sai's main reasons for staying was because of her depression and lack of eating. She also knew that she was empty on the inside, but she was trying harder and getting better. In fact just last week she had actually started caring about what she wore. Like whether or not her clothes were clean, or matched, or if they even fit her. Miriallia looked at it, as a big step in her life. Like most everything else, her image had ceased to be a concern for her after Tolle's death and leaving the Archangel. But now she is taking the initiative to look nicer.

Even her concern that Sai is putting his life on hold to protect her, showed that she is breaking out of her shell. A month ago, even two weeks ago, she would not have even noticed Sai's attitude. But something had happened to bring her back to the land of the living. Tolle's mother visited her and asked Miriallia to move on to let Tolle go and be happy again. Not sure how she would become happy again, Miriallia packed away all of her reminders and momentos of Tolle. It had been almost impossible to do at first but as she continued to pack, it become easier.

Miriallia almost jumped out of her skin, when the phone rang. Placing a hand over her racing heart, she laughed at her nervousness as she answered the screaming phone. The last of her thought on Tolle and Sai left as she said hello.

"Bookends, this is Miriallia Haww. How may I help you?"

"How very professional you sound, Mir." Sai teased her.

"Why thank you kind Sir. I have been working awfully hard on it. Now I know I talked to you earlier so what can I do for you?"

"Nothing much. I just called to tell you that I am going to be stuck at work so I will meet you at the airport at 7:00 instead of picking you up at your apartment. Sorry Mir. I hate to do this to you but I can't help it."

"It is okay Sai. I don't hold it against you. I understand that you are busy. Besides this just goes along with the conversation from lunch. I am a big girl and you should not have to constantly look after me. Hey I think a customer just walked in so I will talk to you later. Or better yet I will see you tonight."

"Alright, I will see you later tonight. Bye Mir."

"Bye Sai."

Miriallia hung up the phone and turned her attention to looking for her customer. She could not see anyone, so she turned back to the computer and began starting her normal closing duties. She heard a book being placed on the counter behind her, yet she did not turn around.

"Give me just one moment and I will be right with you." Hearing no reply, Miriallia finished starting up the program before turning back to her customer.

She kept her head bent, scanning the book and ringing it up. "That will be $12.64 please." She said raising her head from the book. She only got half way before a familiar voice spoke to her, causing her heart to pause in its regular rhythm.

"Hello Miriallia."

Well review and tell me what you think!

Author's note: Okay so the story is moving a little slow right now but it should pick. I warn you now I'm a hopeless romantic so this story might get a little fluffy most the time but I'll try not to be to emotional.


	3. Chapter two

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or its characters.

**OOOO**

"Hello Miriallia. Long time no see."

Miriallia jerked her head up to be met with a tan face and a startling pair of amethyst eyes. "Dearka!"

She shook her head totally confused at his sudden appearance. Maybe it was like this morning, and she was just imagining him standing in front of her. Yeah that was it, she was just envisioning him standing there.

"Miriallia, are you okay?"

"Wha...wha...what are you doing here?" She asked keeping her wide aqua eyes locked with his amethyst ones.

He smiled at her confusion. It seems his appearance had taken her ability to think away. That seemed fair to him, since she always made him feel tongue-tied every time he was near her. She was still as beautiful as the day he left her on the Archangel.

"Well, I think I am here to buy some books and maybe talk you into having dinner with me tonight."

"Excuse me?" Miriallia asked totally bewildered. She did not hear his explanation to why he was in the bookstore. Her mind was still racing as to him being there. He had grown more handsome since the last time she had seen him. Though with Tolle's sudden death, she had not truly realized Dearka's good looks. On some level she knew he was handsome but with him standing in front of her she could not help but notice. He had a strong build with heavily muscled arms and a lean, tall frame. His blonde hair was a little bit longer but still shorter than Kira's shaggy hair.

"I said that I was here to buy books and try to convince you to go to dinner with me." Dearka stated very plainly. He watched as she processed his statement. He very much did not mind her taking her time to respond to him, because at least this way he got to take his time looking at her. Besides he knew that he had surprised her.

In general he liked what he saw. Her brunette hair was a nice mix of gold and brown strands. Dearka knew that he was going to have fun trying to come up with the proper name for her hair color, since brunette did not quite fit it. Her face was thin, but those deep aqua eyes of hers made a person forget everything else. He did not like how frail she appeared to be. It looked like she had quit eating and her already slender frame was now painfully thin.

"Dinner?" She whispered bring him back to reality.

"Yeah, you know that meal you eat at night. Sometimes alone but hopefully with me tonight." He quipped giving her a disarming smile.

"With you?" Miriallia repeated. Her brain was slowly starting to function again. "Wait! What are you really doing here? And don't tell me that they PLANTS don't have bookstores." She demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, I was helping with the reconstruction, and when everything was done I decided to hop on a flight and come see you." Dearka said reaching behind the counter to grab her elbow and pull her out from behind there.

Miriallia dropped her arms and stood stiffly in front of him, now refusing to meet his determined gaze. "Don't you have to go back to the PLANTS?"

Dearka sighed at her obvious reluctance to have dinner with him, or even discuss it. Well he could be stubborn when the need called for it and there was certainly a need for it right now. He had not flown through space just to be put off by this snip of a girl.

"They don't need me right now. I am on free time and I missed you." He said pulling her into his arms, hugging her close to him. "I promise to answer any and all questions that you might have if you will go to dinner with me tonight?"

Miriallia pushed herself out of his arms and put a little distance between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I can't. I am suppose to meet Sai at the airport to greet Kira and the rest of the group."

"So I will go with you to meet everyone and then tomorrow we can have dinner." Dearka said trying to convince her. It seemed that she had become more stubborn since their short time together on the Archangel.

"I don't know?" Miriallia said hesitantly.

"I do, now be a good girl and finishing closing the store so we can leave." Dearka smiled inwardly as her pert nose rose in the air and she turned her back on him. Turning around to lean his back against the counter, he crossed his arms across his chest and waited on her. Since she was busy closing the store, he had a better chance to study her without her noticing.

She looked graceful as she moved around the bookstore, placing this book here and that book there. He liked that she had decided to keep her hair short. It looked very soft and like spun silk. His attention quickly turned from her hair to her legs. A wolfish smile broke out on his face as she brought out a ladder to put books on higher shelfs. The ladder did not very sturdy but his attention to the ladder was lost the minute she began climbing up the ladder. He was given a very nice view of her smooth, trim legs as she moved up and down the ladder.

He was too busy staring at her legs that he almost failed to see how unsteady the ladder was becoming. Pushing off the counter to go stand beside the ladder, Dearka was just about to call out a warning when Miriallia slipped and fell. He caught her in his arms but just barely. Clutching her body tightly to his chest, Dearka could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as images of what could have happened to her if he had not been there to catch her.

Miriallia wrapped her arms around his neck and felt her body tremble while she tried to calm her racing heart. She had tried to brace herself, when he had caught. She laid her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes to block out the images of falling off the ladder. The two stayed standing close together, neither moving except for Dearka soothingly rubbing her arm.

Realizing that she was in his arms and had her own around his neck and her head on his shoulder, Miriallia lifted her head and unwound her arms. "You can put me down now. Thanks for catching me." She said placing barriers between herself and the strong handsome man who had just saved her.

Her calm mild tone infuriated him. Dearka could not believe she was going to act like she had not just almost broken her beautiful neck. He put her down a little too quickly, causing her to clutch his shoulders or fall. She left her hands on his shoulders just long enough for her to regain her balance. The minute she regained it, she pulled her hands away from him and put some distance between the two of them. He tried to keep a lid on his rising anger, but failed when she turned away from him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He shouted at her, grabbing her arm and turning her back around to face him.

"Excuse me? There is nothing the hell wrong with me. What the hell is wrong with you?" Miriallia shouted back. She tried wrenching her arm free from his grip, but he just held her tighter.

"What's wrong with me is that you could have broken your neck and you are acting like that is an everyday occurrence." He raged, as he contained the urge to shake some since into her.

"Of course it isn't an everyday occurrence. I told you thank you. What more do you want from me?" She yelled at him. It felt good to yell at him she realized. It had been so long since she had lashed out at someone and it felt good to let out her emotions instead of bottling them up, like she had been doing for the last two years.

"Thank you for saving me. Now if you will please let me go, I can finish up here and we can go."

She had done it again. She had thanked him again and dismissed the whole subject. But she was right. What else did he expect or want from her? Maybe for her to have staid in his arms longer, or shown a little more gratitude. The few minutes that she had let whatever guard she had down, and let him hold her had been heaven. She had weighed nothing more than a feather, which bothered him. She was too thin, and had felt too fragile in his arms. It bothered him to think about what would have happened if he had not been there to catch her.

His anger was starting to ebb away, while he followed her to the counter to wait for her to finish closing the store. Just as he was about to lean back against the counter again, Miriallia turned to face him all the sudden and poked him in the chest.

"Look Dearka, I'm not going to climb up the ladder again, so you can quit tailing me. Do you know how hard it is to work with someone following you like a shadow? Just go sit over there and give me five to ten more minutes, then I will be done. Okay?" She pointed to a chair neat the front window and waited till he started moving away.

He could not believe it. That was the third time she had snapped at him since he had caught her. He had not been following her on purpose, he had not even realized he was doing it. But he did as she asked and moved away from the counter over to one of the reading chairs.

**OOOO**

She was true to her words, six minutes after she dismissed him, she was ready to leave. Dearka followed her out of the bookstore and waited as she locked it up. When she turned back around, he smiled at her and handed her the bag of books and papers she was taking home. She thanked him and waited for him to show her where his car was.

"We can leave my car and take yours, if you want?" Dearka suggested.

"No that's okay. We have to take yours, because mine isn't working, so I walked to work this morning."

"You walked?"

"Yeah. It really isn't that far from my apartment. And when I'm not wearing heels it is a nice walk, unless it is raining or really cold."

"So tonight you were just going to walk back home, if I hadn't come by tonight? Or was Sai going to come pick you up?" Dearka asked feeling his anger rising again. Walk home! What is she crazy or did she just want to be mugged or worse?

"No, he was going to meet me at my apartment. What is the big deal? I have walked home alone several times." Miriallia said. She was confused at why he was once again becoming angry with her. If anything she was the one who had a right to be angry. What with his blatant interfering of her private life. She had not talked to him in two years and now here he was demanding answers form her.

"Are you out of your frickin' mind? Do you know how many different things could happen to you walking alone at night?" Several times! He could not believe it. She obviously had no common sense. He shuddered to think what could have happened to her. It dawned on him that he had grabbed her shoulders when she struggled to be released from his tight grip.

"No, I am not out of my frickin' mind. Look, you have no right to yell at me. I am safe and the only time I have been bothered is right now, by you. So let me go, I have to go met my friends." Miriallia demanded, glaring at him. She could not believe his nerve. Who did he think he was lecturing her on walking home alone. And if he did not quit grabbing her then she was going to deck him.

Dearka released her but matched her glare with one that was just as menacing. "See your wrong. I do have the right. Believe me when I say I have more than enough of right to yell at you." He held up a finger to her lips, stopping her from voicing the questions he knew had. Now was not the time to go into that discussion. This one was bad enough and he had a feeling if he opened up that can of worms then she would just as soon jump off a cliff than talk to him again.

"Come on, my car is across the street. If we don't go on then we will be late."

"No."

"No what?" He asked confused. She was crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to move.

"No, I am not getting in the car with you and you are not coming to the airport with me. I revoke the invitation." She said rebelliously. To prove her point, Miriallia turned on her heel and began walking in the direction of her apartment.

Dearka ran to catch up with her. "Hey, if I remember correctly, you didn't invite me, I invited myself. So please come back and I will drive you home." He reached to grab her hand, to pull her back towards the car, but she quickly stepped out of his reach.

"Look Miriallia, it really isn't safe for you to be walking all alone at night. If you don't want me to go to the airport with you fine, but at least let me drive you there." He pleaded with her. There was no way he was going to let her walk home. So he decided to try and reason with her, and if that did not work then he was going to throw her over his shoulder and deposit her in the car.

Miriallia weighed her options carefully. On one hand she could get in his car and let him drive her home and then she would be done with him. On the other, she could ignore his request and keep walking. Unfortunately he would just keep hounding her until she gave in, and if that did not work she didn't doubt that he would use physical force to get what he wanted.

He wished he knew what was going on in that head of hers. It was not that difficult of a request. Just a simple yes or no. Well the yes would be simple, the no would be hard, because he was determined to get his way. He refused to let her walk alone, especially in the dark. Just as he was about to demand a response from her, Miriallia gave him an answer.

"Fine, where's your car? I have to meet Sai at 7:00, so let's go." Dearka escorted her to his car, making sure to place a hand on her back. He wanted her to be use to his touch and his presence. Because whether she was ready or not, he was going to be in her life.

**OOOO**

The car ride to her apartment was a strained silent one. Miriallia only talked to give him directions. After that she sat quietly and stared stoically out the passenger window. The trip only took ten minutes, but it felt a lot longer to her. The intrusive silence was broken once they reached her building. Dearka got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her. He gave her enough room to get fully out of the car, but refused to let her leave. Trapping her between his arms and the car, he smiled down at her, but was met with a very hostile glare.

"What do you think you are doing?"She demanded. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stood in a defensive postion trying to put space between the two of them.

"I wanted to talk to you and I really didn't want to have to chase you down again. Now tell me why you said that your apartment is close to the bookstore."

Her face lost it's hostile look only to be replaced by one of confusion. "What are you talking about? The store is close to my building. Otherwise that car ride would have taken even longer."

"That car ride took ten minutes. That means it has to at least take you twenty just to walk there. Twenty minutes is not close, especially at night. Now why don't you march your cute ass inside and change clothes and I will wait on you so we can go to the airport?" He replaced his smile with a glare, to let her know his displeasure at her for letting him believe that the two buildings were closer together.

Miriallia's laughter perplexed him. He assumed that she would fight him on going to the airport. Dropping his guard and his arms, Dearka almost fell on his own ass, when she pushed him away.

She quickly ran around him but stopped once she made it to the entrance of the building. "Dearka, there is no way me or my cute ass is going to the airport with you. Thank you again for catching me and for the ride home, but I want you to leave. I can't think of a single thing we have to talk about, so this is good night. In fact it really would be fro the best if you went on back to the PLANTS. I'm sure someone needs you there." She dashed into the building, not stopping until she was safely inside the elevator.

**OOOO**

Dearka watched as Miriallia ran away from him. He was torn between smiling at her prise and groaning at her stubborn hide. He settled on sighing . Getting back into the car, he decided to give her a little time alone, before he tried again. Besides he had a feeling that he had gone to far with the cute ass comment, but he was just trying to play with her. It had hurt when she told him to go back to the PLANTS. It had been two years since he had seen her and now she wanted him to leave. He had only been near her for an hour and it was nowhere near enough time for him.

He loved her. It was as simple as that. Not once in the last two years that had separated them, had he stopped thinking of him. They had only spent a little time together on the Archangel, but after she got over wanting his head on a platter, she had shown him kindness like none other had. It had been hard on him to stay away from her for these last two years. But she needed tome to heal from her boyfriend's death, and he had to return to help with peace negoations and rebuilding the war torn areas. There was still a lot more reconstruction to do, but he had decided to stop and begin rebuilding his life. The first stop to reaching his goal, was Miriallia. To bad she was being stubborn. Some part of him had hoped she would have been happier to see him again. Maybe even throw herself into his arms. He knew better, but he had still hoped for it.

Thankfully he had been working with Kira, Cagalli, and Lacus, so he was able to keep up with her for the last two years. Lacus was the only one to realize his feelings for the aqua eyed girl. So whenever Kira received a letter from Sai, Lacus would pass along any information on Miriallia. He knew that she was still grieving for her dead loved one, and that she had lost a lot of weight. He figured Sai had been exaggerating about her weight loss until he saw her tonight and held her in his arms.

Learning that she was still in mourning had discouraged him, until several weeks ago, when Sai sent a letter saying Miriallia was starting to move on. He said that she was happier, eating more, and had packed away all her old pictures. This was just the news that Dearka needed to decide to come to Orb and win her over.

To bad he had forgotten how stubborn she could be. It was going to take a lot to break through all the barriers that she had errected. Unfortunately it will probably take even more just to make her understand his true intentions. He was not proposing marriage, only a chance to know her better. Everything about her intrigued him. Like the way she is always kins to others even if they did not deserve it. Athrun, for one, is an examole of that kindness. He had been the one to kill her boyfriend, and she may hate him, but she is still kind to him. Hell, she had been nice to him when everyone else thought he was dirt just because he was a coordinator. That fact and he had tried to shoot down there ship. But she had befriended him and he had fallen in love with her.

Dearka smiled to himself, as he contemplated the look on Miriallia's face when she sees him at the airport with everyone else. He was sure there would be fire in those aqua eyes. He continued to think of her as he parked his car at the airport.

Looking at his watch, Dearka whistled seeing that he was right on time. Thankfully Yzak had told him what gate they would be arriving at, saving him from having to stop and ask. Thinkning of Yzak, made Dearka wonder how his friend was doing traveling with the lovebirds. He would definitely be a grouch once they landed. And Dearka figured Cagalli would be the major source of Yzak's grouchiness. The two of the had a weird respect for each other. It probably came from them both liking to try and boss Athrun around. Even though Yzak respectec Cagalli, that did not mean he liked it when she tried to boss him around. Ususally the two of them got into a pissing contest on who was more important, Cagalli the Princess of Orb or Yzak, a member of ZAFT'S high council. Most times it was Athrun and himself that had to step in and break them up, but tht was only after they had a good laugh at the two.

Bumping into a blonde haired man , brought Dearka out of his thoughts about his friends behavior. Realizing that the man he had ran into was Sai. Dearka extended his hand out to shake with the other man.

"Hey Sai. How are you doin'?"

Sai smiled at him, geniunely happy to see him. "Hey Dearka. Good to see you again. Mir will be pleased to see you."

Dearka smiled but reframed from commenting on Sai's observation of Miriallia's happiness to see him. '_Oh, I wouldn't say pleased exactly. More like pissed off, especially since she seems to want me gone from Orb'_ he thought to himself, while he half listened to Sai ramble on.

"So what are you doing here?" Sai asked him, causing Dearka to pay attention to the conversation again.

"Well, we all decided to coem in and visit once the reconstruction was through. I had some stuff to see to, so I came in a little earlier than everyone else. Much to Yzak's irritation."

"Yzak's coming in too? I figured he would want to stay in the PLANTS."

Dearka laughed at Sai's comment. "Oh, he would have, but his motehr is driving him crazy and we all bugged him into comeing. And when that failed to work, Cagalli challenged him into coming. I think it went something to with him being to chicken to come to Orb. That made him so pissed that it took me, Athrun, Kira, and Lacus to keep him from killing her. So now he is aboard the shuttle with Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, and Athrun."

Sai laughed along with Dearka. He did not know Yzak that well, but what he did know made him realize how pissed the silver haired coordinator would be after being stuck with tha tfoursome on the shuttle.

"Ouch man. I would not want to be you when he gets here. Maybe Mir can save you from his wraith."

Dearka just barely stopped himself from snorting. Yeah right, it is more like Miriallia would team up with Yzak to hurt him.

"I don't know, Miriallia many not feel like saving me." He said, trying to be honest without saying that she would probably hand him over personally.

"Naw, I bet she will. After all you departed as friends and she has mentioned you a few times over the last two years. Good they are here." Sai said, hurrying off to greet everyone as they left the shuttle.

Dearka could feel his heart speed up. She had thought about and mentioned him. To bad Sai had run off before he could ask him if it had been good things she had said about him or bad. Well it really did not matter either way, because she had thought about him. Hell, it could not have been to bad, since she was able to be friendly to Athrun and he definitely rated higher on her list than Athrun did.

It was the fist meeting his face that brought him back to the real world. "What they hell was that for, you son of a bitch?" He roared at Yzak, who was rubbing his fist happily. Justas he was about to lunge at his friend a soft voice stopped him.

"Oh my god. Are you alright, Dearka?"

**OOOO**

Author's note:b Thank you to everyone who reviewed my story! You all rock and I hope that you like this chapter.

Well review and tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter three

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or its characters.

Miriallia fumed to herself while she waited for the taxi to pick her up. Her emotions were rioting thanks to a certain blonde haired coordinator. She should have gone back to bed and pulled the covers up over her head and not left until tomorrow morning, the moment that Sai said everyone was coming back to Orb. When he said everyone, she had just assumed he meant Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, and Athrun. She never dreamed that Dearka would be included in everyone. She had to wondered if that meant the silver haired coordinator would be coming also.

It was like she had caused Dearka to appear out of thin air, thanks to her thinking that man was him this morning. Then again is could have been. There was no telling how long he had been in Orb, a week, two weeks, who knew.

The honking car horn, startled her. Looking around to see who the car was honking at, she realized that it was the taxi she had called for earlier. Tomorrow she would have to call a garage to come and get her car to fix it.

After telling the the driver her destination, Miriallia settled back into the backseat of the taxi and watched the passing scenery. No sooner than once she had gotten comfortable did her mind slipped back to Dearka.

What was he doing here? And what did he mean, he had every right to be mad at her for walking home alone at night? She really was going to have to set him straight. Dearka had no place in her life other than as an acquittance. Possibly a good friend, but definitely nothing more. Her heart gave a funny lurch at the thought of Dearka not having a more prominent role in her life. She could not believe it. What the hell was wrong with her? She gets heartbroken at telling him to go back to the PLANTS, but furious when he tries to insert himself in her life and tell her what to do. That was it she was officially crazy.

Granted she did understand his anger at her walking home at night alone. Sai even became pissed with her when he found out. Of course he never really told her that, for fear it would send her over the edge. She, herself, did not always like doing it. The whole time she is walking, she is constantly afraid that someone is going to attack her. But after how high-handed Dearka treated her, she would be damned if she let him know how the walk effected her. Big jerk, acting like he was her father, and she was an errant child, who needed a spanking.

She sighed as the scenery changed from commercial buildings to the open area of the airport. The drive to the loading zoning seemed to fly by and before she knew it the taxi was parking in front of the doors of the airport. Stepping out of the taxi, Miriallia payed the driver and thanked him for the ride. Looking down at her watch, she cursed under her breath at the time. It was 7:12, and once again today she was late. Oh well, there was nothing she could do about it now. Glancing at the piece of paper that Sai had given her, she turned left and headed towards the space transport gates. She began running the closer she got to the gate to make up for the lateness of her arrival.

Tears of happiness welled up in her aqua eyes, at the sight of her old friend and new ones. It had been so long since they had talked. Stopping to watch the reunion from a distance, Miriallia smiled to herself at the antics of her friends.

Sai was talking to Lacus and Kira, while Cagalli was fusing at Athrun for something, who was laden down with all their luggage. She recognized the silver haired coordinator as a friend of Dearka and the former pilot of the X102, codename Duel. So she was right, everyone had meant both the foursome plus the two coordinators. As she looked at the Duel pilot, he seemed to be very pissed off and heading straight for a very tanned, very blonde man, who was none other than Dearka.

The sight of Dearka wiped the smile off her face. What was he doing here? Hopefully catching the next shuttle back to the PLANTS. There was the funny feeling again. He looked lost in thought with a sad wistful look on his face. She almost felt sorry for him,because the Duel pilot looked as if he were about to kill. She watched as he drew back and punched Dearka hard across the face. Her eyes grew twice in size as Dearka stumbled backwards and all commotion around them came to a grinding halt.

She heard Dearka yell something, as she ran to his side. All thoughts were centered on his well being. She could not believe that his friend would hit him. Then again, there were a few times earlier today that she, herself, wanted to hit him. She watched as he raised his fist to hit back, until she cried out.

"Oh my god! Are you alright Dearka?" She grabbed his raised arm and dragged him to the nearest chair, forcing him to sit down. Leaning over him, Miriallia gently touched his cheek, searching for broken bones.

Dearka stared up at her confused. He wondered when she had arrived and why she was fawning over him. Not that he was going to complain. Personally, he liked the feel of her hands on his face. Well he did until she pushed to hard at his swollen cheek. He flinched at on of her to rough pokes, startling her.

Deep aqua eyes met crystalline amethyst ones, as the two stared at one another. In the back ground, they could hear Cagalli yelling at Yzak, who was yelling back, and Athrun who was trying to stop the two. Never breaking eye contact with her, Dearka raised his hand up to hers. He cupped her smaller one against his face and slide it down just enough so that he could kiss her palm. Pulling her hand down he held in tight within his grip and rubbed her soft palm with his thumb.

"Thank you for the care, Miriallia. Yzak has a temper and I should have been expecting him to do something like that." Dearka let go of her hand and stood up to go help Athrun with the bickering duo. As much as he did not want to walk away from her, he knew that if he stayed a moment longer than he would end up doing something to irritate her.

He could not believe it, she cared! Whether she wanted to or not, she cared for him. The truth was in those incredible eyes of hers, and the soft touch of her fingers. If his cheek did not hurt so much he would have found all of this quite humorous. Sai, Kira, and Lacus had not moved from their original position. Sai and Kira looked torn between humor and weariness. Oh he knew why, they found it funny. Anyone would had spent anytime around Yzak would laugh. Thanks to Yzak's short temper, he would rather resort to violence than to tell you what was bothering him. And what was bothering him was having to have ridden alone with four people who could and did grate on his nerves. Naturally, this is Dearka's fault because he had flown in on an earlier flight.

Poor Lacus appeared to be bewildered by the whole thing. She knew Yzak had a temper but he had never shown it in front of her. She just could not figure out why he would hit Dearka. Leaning over, she whispered her questions to Kira, unfortunately they were loud enough for everyone to hear. Kira smiled at her and promised to explain everything later.

As Dearka got closer to Athrun and the quarreling twosome, he could hear Yzak demanding Athrun to control his girl. Ouch, not the best thing to say in front of Cagalli. Stepping in at the last second, he wrapped an arm around the irate blonde's shoulders stopping her from lunging at Yzak.

"Hey Princess, Athrun. Hello again Yzak. I thought I would let my mouth do the greeting this time instead if your fist." He could hear the others groan at his intentional taunt.

Athrun pinched the bridge of his nose wondering how they were going to stop this fight before it could have happened. A murderous look jumped into Yzak's eyes. He pushed Athrun out of his way and inched forward intent on inflicting more damage to Dearka's person.

"Oh, Miriallia, how good it is to see you again." Lacus shouted , drawing everyone's attention to her. It was just enough of a distraction for Kira and Athrun to pull Yzak back.

Miriallia had not moved from the chair, where Dearka had been previously occupying. She was looking a bit dazed and upset. Dearka wondered if she was upset about him being punched or if it was something else. She was staring out the windows ignoring the ruckus that was going on around her. It seemed that she had not even heard Lacus's question. But then she turned away from the window and looked back at the group.

Hearing someone call out to her, Miriallia turned her head and attention back to the people around her. It had been Lacus, who was talking to her. She was grateful for the distraction. Since running over to help Dearka, her thoughts had become chaotic. And they were all centered on Dearka and their first meeting when she had tried to kill only to to turn around and save him. Pushing her thoughts away, she smiled truly happy that her friends were really standing in front of her after two years of separation.

"Kira!" She yelled as she ran throwing herself in his arms. As always, he looked perplexed at the girl who was holding him in her arms. He kept his arms by his side until Lacus nudged him to return the hug.

"Uh, hey Miriallia. How have you been?" He asked once she finally released him.

His question went unanswered as Cagalli rushed over to their small group and she, Lacus, and Miriallia enveloped each other in a group hug. All three girls talked at once, somehow understanding each other, where no one else could. They continued to laugh and talk, ignoring the guys around them, until Athrun, Dearka, and Yzak walked over to join their group.

She watched as Sai shook hands with Athrun and nodded politely at Yzak. Miriallia felt her body stiffen as Athrun held his hand out to her. Gathering her courage, she smiled at him and placed her hand in his larger one.

"Hi Athrun. How are you?"

"Good and you?"

"Very well thank you." She replied. Miriallia was proud of herself. She had talked to Athrun and for the first time it did not feel like she was having to pull teeth to do so. She turned her attention to the silver haired coordinator and smiled at him.

"Hello, um, Yzak?"

Still pissed at Dearka, Yzak nodded his head at her, and turned his attention back to his prey.

Realizing that she had been dismissed, Miriallia turned back to Cagalli and Lacus. The girls once again ignored the guys to talk among themselves. Sai, Kira, and Athrun began talking about the reconstruction, while Yzak angrily with or to Dearka.

Dearka only half listened to Yzak's tirade. His attention was focused solely on Miriallia. She was smiling and laughing. Things he had not managed to make her do today. Course that could have something to so with his chiding her about the ladder and walking home alone. Who was he kidding, he had not chided her, he had yelled at her. Sighing, Dearka felt a pang of jealousy when she laughed at something Cagalli said. It must have been wild because both Athrun and Kira were blushing.

A hard shove to his shoulder brought his attention back to Yzak.

"Are you listening to me?" Demanded his pissed off friend.

"Yes. Look I can settle this real quick. I'm sorry. I should have known you would not be happy about flying in with them, but I had some things I needed to take care of. Now, get over it and lets join everyone else. And no I am not going to tell you what I had to do." Dearka said, patting his friend on the shoulder. It was a dangerous thing to do. Especially since Yzak was still mad and he had basically told him to suck it up and move on. Dearka had a feeling that this was not finished yet but he would deal with it later as long as it did not interrupt his time with Miriallia. He did not have long to spend in Orb and he wanted to be with her for as long as he could. Yzak would just have to wait.

He smiled at Miriallia, as he and Yzak rejoined their friends. She turned her face away from him and focused back on the group around her.

"So long are you staying? Where are you staying?" Miriallia asked moving closer to Sai, placing some distance between herself and Dearka. His smile unnerved her, along with the look in his eyes. Those amethyst depths held a certain amount of possession in them whenever he looked at her.

"Well, everyone but Dearka is staying at my house here in Orb. I invited Dearka but he declined. Apparently, he felt he needed to stay else where." Cagalli said turning her sharp attention to the blonde haired coordinator.

He smiled at Cagalli but reframed from commenting on her statement.

"Anyway, for how long we are staying I don't know. I'm suppose to take over the responsibility as representative in a few months so I'm trying to travel as much as I can before then."

"So why don't we move this shindig to Cagalli's house, so that everyone can get settled in." Sai suggested. Everyone laughed as Kira and Athrun groaned at having to carry their girlfriends and their own luggage again.

The group moved towards the parking lot, where everyone's ride was waiting.

"Hey Sai, can I get a ride with you?" Miriallia asked quietly.

"I would let you but my car is loaded down with equipment from work? Where is your car?"

"The battery is dead. That's why I was late. I had to take a taxi." She explained. Maybe she could fit in with Kira and the others. It would be a tight fit with five other people and luggage, but it was better than wait for another taxi. She was just about to ask when a voice interrupted her.

"Miriallia, you can ride with me. I have plenty of room and there is no reason for you to take another taxi when we are all heading for the same place." Dearka had her, and she knew it. He knew it. There was no way she could decline without raising questions why, from everyone else.

She smiled weakly at him, all the while planning his demise. "Thank you, Dearka."

"Think nothing of it. Come on my car is two isles over. See you in a little bit guys." He said waving bye to the group. He slung his arm across her shoulders and led her towards his rental car. He could feel her shoulders stiffen under his touch. Being perverse, Dearka pulled her closer to his side, knowing that she was mad at him, and just as likely to hit him for holding her. But he simply did not care. All that mattered was how she felt fitted against his side.

Miriallia was at war with herself. She was upset at Dearka anchoring her to his side, but a part of her liked the warmth and security his body provided. She had not been cuddled up to someone's side since Tolle's death. She sighed unhappily. This is stupid, she needed to quit comparing every guy to Tolle. Tolle is dead, he is never coming back. She needs to let him go and quit letting his memory rule her life.

Miriallia glanced up at Dearka in confusion, when he stopped and dropped his arm from her shoulder. She had been to busy thinking about Tolle to realize that she had sighed out loud.

Dearka turned to face her, reaching out to lift her chin. "What's wrong?" He asked her softly.

He traced his hand from her chin her ear, to move some hair out of her face. His fingers lingered in her soft hair, loving the feeling of those silkily strands against his skin.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking."

"Well, that must have been some heavy thoughts to elicit a sigh like that. Come on we should get going. Unless you want to tell me the truth about what is going on in that head of yours?"

Miriallia shook her head no and pulled away from him. He just moved back against her and wrapped his arm around her once again, guiding her to his car.

The car ride to Cagalli's was reminiscent of the one to Miriallia's apartment. Trying to break the silence, Dearka turned on the radio and hummed softly along with it. There was something about the way Miriallia had looked at him in the parking lot, that was bothering him. When he had pushed her hair back, her eyes had looked pained, as if she were hurting form his simple gesture.

He did not like seeing her sad or unhappy. It did not suit her. She should be happy and shielded from further pain. She had experienced enough in the war, and he wanted her to be happy form now on. Granted his actions had been the reason for her sadness, but he could not help himself. All he had thought about was touching her hair to find out if it was as soft as it looked. It was softer.

He jumped when Miriallia tapped him on the shoulder. It was then that he realized she had asked him a question.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

She rolled her eyes at him but repeated her question none the less.

" I asked who was singing this song. It sounds so familiar, but I can't place where I have heard it before."

"Oh, well it's Lacus. Most likely you heard it before, when she was on your ship. This is the song she use to sing during the earlier part of the war. We use to all love it when she would come and sing. It did not happen often, but when it did it was great. That and it was a good chance to pick on Athrun." Dearka smiled lost in thoughts of the first days of the war, when everyone was still alive and not so bitter.

Miriallia listened to Lacus's song, lost in her own thoughts. She knew Lacus could sing. Sai had told her that he and Kira had over heard her once on the Archangel, but Miriallia had never imagined how good Lacus was. The song playing was sad yet sweet at the same time. It's melody was hauntingly beautiful, causing her to think things best left in thought. It was like Lacus was singing about Miriallia's past and possible future. Her life had been shattered by one mistake but now it seemed that mistake had allowed her to do more and become more.

"There you go again, thinking those heavy thoughts. So what exactly are you thinking about?" Dearka asked her tenderly. He reached over and grasped her slender hand in his larger one. He had to smile when she did not immediately pull away form him.

"I was not really thinking about anything." Miriallia said finally pulling her hand away from his. His grasp had been warm and soothing, making her already conflicted emotions to go into overboard.

"You're a terrible liar. I wish you would just tell me. It will make you feel better to talk about whatever is bothering you." He said a little less tenderly but still softly.

Miriallia sat stubbornly quiet, refusing to respond to him. She was sick of him thinking he could pry into her life. Or that he had a right to insist answers from her. She was still bothered by his earlier comment on how he believed that he had a right to interfere in her life.

"Come on Miriallia, answer me. Or I will just bring this up in front of the others. And somehow I don't think you want to discuss this in front of everyone else."

He was right. She did not want to talk about this in front anyone. It would just bring everyone down, and she did not want to be responsible for ruining the jovial, good mood of the group. "You are such a jerk sometimes, you know that?" She spat at him. Why could he not just let this drop?

"All I was thinking about was Lacus's song. It's so beautiful but also haunting. It made me wonder who she sang those lyrics about. It also made me think about my own life, and how I need to put somethings into perspective. Is there anything else you would like to know, Dad?" One of the main reasons she had not wanted to tell him what was on her mind was that the song caused her to think of him. And she would be damned if she let him know that, especially now. It was silly, but she felt if he knew she had been thinking about him then he would become more persistent with her.

Dearka flinched at the tone of her last question. There was no doubt about it. He had managed to make her mad again. That had not been his intention. She had looked so sad listening to the song. He only wanted to know what it was that was making her melancholy. So he had forced her to tell him. Every time he asked in the past, she said nothing and found a way to change the subject. He was not willing to let that happen this time. He wanted to know what was going on in that head of hers, and no matter what it took, he was going to find out.

Her answer shocked him a little. It was true that Lacus's song was haunting but he had never thought about who she was thinking of when she sang it. He guessed, he always assumed it was about Athrun, after all they had been engaged. Honestly he had not really even listened to the words before. It was just a song, simple as that. Now he found himself wanting to hear it again, so that he could truly listen to it again.

He wondered who Miriallia was thinking about as she listened to the song. If he had to guess it would be her dead boyfriend. When was she going to let him go? Dearka almost voiced his question out loud, when she interrupted him.

"Good we are here. Thanks again for the ride." She rushed out of the car, not waiting for his reply.

He sighed as she disappeared into the large house. He needed to remind himself that he could not push or he would lose her. But dammit he was hurt that she threw herself in to Kira's arms and not his own. That had been the reception he had been wishing for from her, when he arrived at the bookstore that afternoon. All he wanted was for Miriallia to yell his name all happy like and wrap her arms around him. Hell she had given Yzak the same greeting she had given him.

Thinking about greeting Yzak, he realized that he should get inside before his friend decided to try and kill him again.

Miriallia ran into the house trying to escape Dearka's persistent questions. She was worried about where his line of questions were heading and the only way to stop it was to get out of the car. Thankfully, they were already at Cagalli's when she made her dash for freedom.

She stopped running when she realized that she had no idea where in the house everyone was. Back tracking to the front door, she listened for voices to tell her which room they were all in. Unfortunately there were no voices to be heard. That meant Cagalli and Yzak were not fighting for once. She had laughed at one of the letters Lacus had sent her describing in full the "minor disputes" between Cagalli and the silver haired coordinator. Lacus may call them "minor disputes" but everyone else saw it as war between the two. Right now it seemed Yzak was winning, but Miriallia had no doubt that Cagalli would correct that before the trip was over.

She laughed to herself, envisioning the ways Cagalli and Yzak were going to pick at each other. Maybe they should have been brother and sister, instead of Cagalli and Kira. Those two certainly fought like they were related. She almost felt sorry for Athrun and whoever else had to step in between those two.

"What are you laughing about?" Dearka asked closing the front door behind him.

Miriallia jumped at his question. She placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart and turned to glare at him. "Didn't you ever learn that it's not nice to sneak up on people?" She yelled at him.

"I wasn't sneaking up on you. I just walked through the door and heard you laugh. All I wanted to know was why you were doing so. I'm sorry, I scarred you."

"It's alright. I was just thinking about all the upcoming fights between Cagalli and your friend. Also how Lacus refers to their fights as 'minor disputes.' It was funny to me, so I laughed."

Dearka smiled down at the laughing woman. He was just about to tell her some of Cagalli and Yzak's more humorous fights, when Yzak came up behind her. A greeting was on the tip of his tongue when Yzak reached out and tapped Miriallia on the shoulder.

She did not just jump this time, she screamed.

"Dammit! What is with you people and sneaking up on people?" She fumed as she turned her wraith on Yzak. "I mean seriously, couldn't you have said something before just scarring me. Bloody hell!" She could feel her cheeks heat up as Kira, Lacus, Sai, Cagalli, and Athrun poked their heads out of a room to see what all the yelling was about. Gathering what was left of her pride, she squared her shoulders and pushed past Yzak, marching towards the occupied room.

Everyone turned their bewildered gaze on Dearka, who just shrugged his shoulders. Yzak muttered something about crazy naturals, earning him a glare from Dearka.

"She is not crazy. You just scarred her. What did you want anyway?"

"I was sent to bring you to the living room." With that said he walked off, yelling over his shoulder that he was going to his room.

Everyone slowly went back into the room to resume their conversations. Sai held back, signaling Dearka to do so also.

"Did I really just hear Mir, cuss and yell at, well you and Yzak?"

"Yes. Though this time her shouting was reserved all for Yzak."

"This time?!" Sai asked surprised and perplexed.

"Well I have gotten to be on the receiving end of her ire, a few times tonight. No big deal."

"You mean she yelled. Actually got angry and yelled at you?"

"Yeah. That is what I said. Why?" Dearka asked rubbing the back of his neck.

Sai took his glasses off and cleaned the lenses before answering Dearka's question. "Well she hasn't gotten angry in the last two years. This is great!" he exclaimed.

"I'm glad you think so, because personally I don't like her being pissed at me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant it like that. It's just that she has been kinda like a doll lately, but now she is showing emotions. Granted happiness would be better than anger, but I will take whatever she does. I knew everyone coming here would be good for her. Especially you, Dearka. I'm glad you came." Sai patted him on the back, before leaving him in the hallway.

Dearka still was not sure if he should be happy, she chose to be angry with him or not. He was happy that she was coming out of the depression Sai said she had been in, but he wished she would show it in better ways.

Sighing to himself, Dearka walked into the room to join the others.

Author's note: I know that parts of the conversations are formal. Especially the one between Athrun and Miriallia, but remember that she is not comfortable around him so her speech is going to be stilted and formal. I am working on making the conversations more light, but I speak formally most the time so it is a little hard for me not to write that way. I hope that everyone likes this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out, but I have had finals and papers so that has pretty much been all I have done. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You all are great!

Well review and tell me what you think!


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